Convertible davenport



Jan. 16, 1945.

Filed y 1943 TTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 16, 1945 OFFICE CONVERTIBLE DAVENPORT Mary Kathryn Cooper,Dayton, Ohio Application May 20, 1943, Serial No. 487,708

15 Claims.

This invention relates to a convertible davenportand one object of theinvention is to provide a davenport which can be easily converted into Ia bed and will :be comfortable and of attractive appearance when usedeither as a davenport oras a bed.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a davenport whichwhen converted to bed form may be used either as adouble bed or as twinbeds.

Afurther object of the invention is to provide ,such a davenport whichmay be converted into two separate beds eachhaving a headboard andclosely resembling a single bed of modern design.

A further object of the invention is to provide two separate bed unitswhich can be superposed one upon the other to form a davenport.

A further object of the invention is to provide a davenport comprisingseparate bed units in which the spring and mattress of atleast one bedunit will be verticallyadjustable to adapt the same for use as a bed oras a davenport. Other objects of the invention may appear as the same isdescribed indetail.

I In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is aperspective view of thedavenport; Fig. 2 is a 'perspective. view of the lower bed unit adjustedto bed position; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the upper bed unit,-partly broken away; Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of portions ofthe lower bed unit showing the frame in adjusted positions with relationto the upright end member;'Fig. 6

is, a sectional detail view of the device for locking the frame invertically adjusted positions, taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4; Fig. '7is a section taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a perspectiveview of a portion of one of the bed frames showing the device forconnecting the two units one to the other and for actuating, the bedlegs; and Fig. 9 is a sectional View taken through the connectingdevice.

unit is secured to its head board near the lower edge of the latter'andthe bed portion of the other bed unit is secured to its head board at adistance from the lower edge of the latter approximately equal to theheight of the mattress of thefirst mentioned bed unit. The bed units areassembled with the higher bed portion above and extending lengthwise ofthe lower bed portion and with the head boards at the respective ends ofthe assembled structure, to form the end members or arms of thedavenport, a removable backbeing arranged adjacent the rear edge of theassembled structure to complete the davenport. The bed units arepreferably releasably connected one with the other to prevent theaccidental displacement thereof with relation one to the other. The bedunits may be of any suitable construction but preferably the frame ofeach unit supports a bed spring on which the mattress rests. The frame,bed spring and mattress may be separable units or may be combined in asingle unit, such for example as a box spring mattress.

As here shown the davenport comprises a lower bed unit A and arr upperbed unit B, the bed portion of the unit B being superposed on the bedportion of the unit A and'the end members of the two units beingarranged at opposite ends of the from the outer edges of the horizontalflanges.

In the drawing I have shown one embodiment of the invention, for thepurpose of illustration, and it is to be understood that the severalparts of the structure may take various forms and that the bed units maybe so designed that when assembled they will produce a davenportdiffering materially in appearance from the one here illustrated.

,The davenport comprises two separate bed units each including ahorizontal frame and a mattress, herein referred to as the bed portion,and anuprightmember, or head board, secured to'ione end of the bedportion and extending .above'the' mattress. The bed portion of one bedSecured to and carried by the frame is a bed spring ll of a well knowntype. Supported on the frame it and spring II is a mattress l2. It isdesirable that the frame should be concealed, particularly when the bedunits are assembled to form a davenport, and this may be accomplished.

by providing the mattress with parts extending over the exteriorsurfaces of the frame and covering the same. In the present constructionthe mattress is provided in its lower surface with a groove or grooves,preferably a continuous groove l3, extending parallel with and adjacentto the respective edges thereof and adapted to receive the verticalflanges of the respective angle bars, the groove being of such depththat the angle bars are completely concealed. The frame may be made ofrelatively light material and the mattress is preferably of the spongerubber type .which combinesv softness with very light weight.

The mattress or at least the exposed portions thereof are covered withmaterial suitable for davenport upholsterlng. Rigidly secured to one endof each frame I is an upright member, or a head board I4, these uprightmembers constitute the arms of the davenport and they may be of anysuitable shape which will provide the desired effect in the davenport.They may be made either of wood or of metal and may be covered oruncovered as desired. They are here shown as formed of wood and coveredwith upholstering material IS, without padding, see Fig. 6. The frame of'the upper bed unit may be rigidly connected with its upright end memberin any suitable manner, as by bolts, not here shown, and this framemember is provided with foldable legs which may be extended when itisremoved from the lower bed unit for use as a bed. These legs may takevarious forms but are shown at I6 as angular in cross section andpivotally connected at I! with the side member of the frame ll] so thatthey may be moved to an inoperative position with their flanges inengagement respectively with the vertical and horizontal flanges of theframe members. Ordinarily the pivotal connection provides sufficientfriction to retain the legs in their adjusted positions but ob- "viouslyretaining means may be provided if found desirable.

The lower bed unit may be utilized as a bed with the bed portion in theposition which it occupies when assembled in the davenport and inthat-position it is secured to its end member M at or adjacent to thebottom of the latter. However, it is usually preferable that the bedportion be raised some distance above the floor and to enable thisto bedone the frame of the lower bed unit A is so connected with its endmember N that it may be moved upwardly to a level corre- 'sp onding tothe level of the frame of the upper bed unit B, and is provided at thatend opposite "said end member with foldable legs I6, such as those abovedescribed, which may beextended when the frame is moved outwardly withrelation to the end member, as shown in Fig. 2. This {not only elevatesthe bed portion of the bed unit A above the floor level but it alsoenables the "two bed units to be placed edge to edge to form "a doublebed, thus enabling the bed units to be used either as a'double bed or astwin beds. The'adjustable connection between the frame and "end memberof the bed unit "A may be of any suitable character but preferably it issuch as to prevent the separation of the frame from the end member"during the adjustment of the former. "end member M of this bed unit isprovided adja- In' the construction here illustrated the cent each sidethereof with a vertical groove I1 and secured to the end member inoverlapping relation to the groove H 'isa guide plate l8 having avertical slot 19. The overlapping edges of against the action of thespring. The latch casupper end'of the groove 11 and, if desired, asimilar recess near the bottom of the groove. A spring 24 urges thebolt'toward the recess and retains the same therein. A pin-25 is rigidlysecured to the bolt 22 and extendsthrough slots in the latch casing 2|and in the'vertical flange of the frame ing is rigid with the framemember and the pin has supporting engagement with the frame member whereit passes through the slot therein and serves to support the framemember so that when the bolt has been retracted the end of the framemember can be elevated, or lowered, and the bolt then moved into lockingengagement with the recess 23 by moving the handle, or grip, lengthwiseof the frame. There is-sufiicient clearance between the edges of theslot I9 and the latch casing 2| to permit of a slight tilting of theframe when the side portions thereof are raised or lowered one at atime. The handle or grip 26 is located close to the lower edge of theframe member in the groove 13 in the mattress so it can be easilyengaged by the fingers of the operator and the flexibility of theoverhanging portion of 'the mattress permits it to be easily operated.

It is desirable that the two bed units be connected one-with theother,-at one or both ends thereof, to prevent their accidentaldisplacement when in davenport form. In the present instance I haveshown the frame 10 of the upper frame unit B as provided with a lockingdevice, here shown as a hook shaped member 27 pivotally mounted at 28 onthe end of the frame approximately midway between the sides of thelatter and movable into locking engagement with a part of the end memberM of the other bed unit, A. This locking part is preferably in the formof a 'bar 2'i-a and to prevent the necessity of spacing the'bar from theend member the latter is provided with a recess 29 in which the bar ismounted. The locking member or hook "21 has an offset portion 38constituting "a hand grip whereby it may be moved into and out oflocking engagement with the bar 28 and when in such engagement will holdthe bed portion of the unit B against movement with'relation tothe endmember M of the unit A. The end of the bed portion of unit B may bespaced some little distancefrom the end member M of unit A'to permitready access to the connecting member but preferably the mattress isprovided with a recess 3| to facilitate the insertion of the hand in therecess29 of the end member M. Thus by reaching into the recess 29 thehand grip 30 may be grasped and an upward pull thereon will first movethe connecting member to an inoperative position and will then lift theend of the bed portion of the upper bed unit B and permit the same to bemoved off of the bed portion of the lower bed unit A. If desired, thisconnecting device may-also be utilized to move the legs of the bed unitB to their extended position as the latter is elevated and moved to bedforming position. 7 For this purpose the hook shaped member 2 isprovided with laterally extending portions-32-providedat their ends withcrank arms 33 which are pivotally connected at 34 with the respectivelegs. In the present instance the parts 21, -32 and 33 are formed from asingle rod. It-is not essential that the bed portion of the lower framemember A should have locking connection with the upright member M of theupper bed section but, if desired, a similar locking device may beprovided for this purpose.

The davenport may be provided with a back of any'suitable character butpreferably a plurality of cushions 35 constitute'the back of thedavenport-and, as here show-n, these cushions are intended to restagainst'the wall. If desired,

othersupporting means for the cushions may be removably attached to" thebed units but ordinarily this is' not necessary; To fa'cilit'atethe 4.'Adavenport comprising two bed units each movement of the davenport, as awhole, as. well as' of the separated units, the unit A is provided "at'its 'four corners'with casters 36 and the end member 14' of the unit Bis provided with castiers 3]; Thus when the davenport is to beseparated; into individualbeds the back or cushions '35' are removed,the operator reaches his hand through the recess 3| inthe uppermattress, grasps thegonnecting device 21 and pulls upwardly. thereon tomove the connecting device to 'an inoperative position and to then liftthe end of thebed portion of unit B and move that bedportion off of thebed portion'of unit A and to the-position where it is desired to use theI claim as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent, is: 1 I

1. A davenport comprising two separable bed units. each complete initself and including a horizontal frame, a mattress on said frame and anupright member at one end of said frame extending above the same, theframe of one unit being positioned above and lengthwise of the matt ressof the other unit with its end member at that end of said other unitopposite the end member of the latter, and means for connectingthe lowerframe member with its end member in vertically adjusted positions withrelation thereto. r

2. .A davenport comprising two separable bed units each complete initself and including a horizontal frame, a mattress on said frame and anupright member at one end of said frame extending above the same, theframe .of one unit being positioned above and lengthwise of the mattressof the other unit with its end member at that end of said other unitopposite the end member of the latter, means for connecting the lowerframe member with its end member in vertically adjusted positions withrelation thereto, said meansincluding a member movably mounted on saidframe and a handle having supporting connection with said frame andoperative connection with said movable member.

including a horizontal frame, a mattress on said frame and an uprightmember at one end of said frame extending above the same, the frame ofone unit being positioned above and lengthwiseof a mattress of the otherunit with its end member at that end of said other unit opposite the endmember of the latter, means for connecting the lower frame member withits end member in vertically adjusted positions with relation' thereto,and means including a guide member rigid with said end member and havinga vertical slot, a part rigid with said frame and having interlockingconnection with said guide member and vertically movable with relationthereto, a part mounted on said frame for movement into and out oflocking engagement with said end member, and a hand grip connected withthe last mentioned part to actuate the same and to lift. said frame.

.5. A davenport comprising two separable bed units each complete initself and including a. horizontal frame, a mattress on said frame andan' upright member at one end of said frame 3.;A'davenport comprisingtwo separable bed units each complete in itself and including ahorizontal frame, a mattress on-said frame and an upright member at oneend of said frame extending above the same, the frame of one unit beingpositioned above and lengthwise of-the mattress of the other unit withits end member at that'end of said other unit opposite the end member ofthe latter, means for connecting the lower frame member with its endmember in vertically adjusted positions with relation thereto, saidmeans including a member slidably mounted on said frame for movementinto and out of supporting engagement with said end member, and a handleconnected with said slidable member to control the movement thereof andtosupport said frame member when said slidable' member is disengagedfrom said end member; v

, extending above the same, the frame of one unit to'the upright memberof one bed unit, a second I lockingmember pivotally mounted on the frameof the other bed unit for movement into and out of operative engagementwith the first mentioned locking member and having a part forming a handgrip, an upright pull on which will first move said second lockingmember to inoperative position and then lift said frame.

6. A davenport comprising two bed units each including a horizontalframe, a mattress on said frame and an upright member at one end of saidframe extending above the same, the frame of one unit being positionedabove and lengthwise of the mattress of theother unit with its endmember at that end of said other unit opposite. the end member .of thelatter, foldable legs mounted on the frame of one. bed unit at that endthereof opposite its upright member, a locking device mounted on saidend of said frame for movement into and out of locking position andhaving a part forming a hand grip to move said locking member tounlocking position and to lift said frame, means actuated by said handgrip to move said legs to their extended positions, anda locking membercarried by said upright member of the other bed unit to cooperate withthe first mentioned locking member.

7. A davenport comprising two bed units each including a horizontalframe, a mattress on said frame .and an upright member at one end ofsaid frame extending above the same, the frame of one unitbeingpositioned above and lengthwise of the mattress of the other unit withits end member at that end of said other unit opposite the end member ofthe latter, legs pivotally'moun'ted on the frame of one bed unit at thatend thereof opposite its upright member, a hook-shaped locking memberpivotally mounted on said end of said frame for movement into and out oflocking position and having apart forming a hand grip to move saidlocking member to unlocking position and to lift said frame, saidlocking member having laterally extending axial parts provided withcrank arms connected with the respective legs, and a locking membercarried by the upright member of the other bed.

ing connected with the end member of that unit at a height sufficient toenable :said frame to even lie the mattress of the other bed unit, theframe of the first mentioned bed unit extending above and lengthwise ofthe mattress of the last mentioned unit with its end member at that endthereof opposite the end member of the last mentioned unit, both endmembers extending above the mattress of the first mentioned unit to formthe arm pieces of a davenport, and a removable upright back for saiddavenport, said first mentioned bed unit being bodily removable from thelast mentioned bed unit and having means for supporting the same in .ahorizontal position independently of said last mentioned bed unit whenso removed.

9. An article of furniture comprising two units each constituting a fulllength bed and including a horizontal frame, a mattress on said frame,

an upright member at one end only of said frame,

said upright member having supportingengagement with the floor andextending above said mattress, the frame of one of said bed units beingconnected with the end member of that unit at a height sufficient toenable said frame to overlie the mattress of the other bed unit, theframe of the first mentioned bed unit extending above and lengthwise ofthe mattress of the last mentioned unit with its end member at that endthereof opposite the end member of the last men tioned unit, both endmembers extending above the mattress of the first mentioned unit to formthe arm pieces of a davenport, a removable upright back for saiddavenport, said first mentioned bed unit being bodily removable from thelast mentioned bed unit and having means for supporting the same in ahorizontal position independently of said last mentioned bed unit whenso removed, and releasable means for connecting the frame of one bedunit with the end member of the other bed unit.

10. A davenport comprising upper and lower bed units, each bed unitbeing complete in itself and including a bed portion having at one endthereof an upright member extending upwardly above said bed portion, thebed portion of the upper bed unit being connected with the uprightmember of that unit at such a height that it may overlie and besupported by the bed portion of the lower bed unit, said end membersconstituting the arms of the davenport when the bed portion of the upperbed unit is superposed on the bed portion of the lower bed unit, saidunits being separable for movement to selected positions with relationone to the other, said upper bed unit having at that end thereofopposite said upright member collapsible means for supporting the samein a horizontal position when it is removed from said lower bed unit, alocking bar secured to the end member of one bed unit, and a lockingmember mounted on the adjacent end of the bed portion of the other bedunit for movement into and outof operative engagement with said lockingbar and a hand grip connected with said locking member to actuate thesame escapes and lift said end of the last mentioned bed portion.

'11. A convertible article of furniture comprising two separate bedunits, each unit being complete in itself and including a bed portionand an upright supporting member at one end only thereof, the bedportion of one 'of said units being connected with the upright member ofthat'unit at such a height that it may be superposed on and supported bythe bed portion of the other unit with its upright member at that end ofsaid other unit opposite the upright member of the latter, saidsuperposed bed portion having at that end thereof opposite its uprightsupporting member legs to support the same independently of the lowerunit, said legs being, collapsible to permit said superposed unit to besupported on said lower unit.

12. A convertible article of furniture comprising two separate bedunits, each unit being complete in itself and including a bed portionand an upright supporting member at one end only thereof, the bedportion of one of said units being connected with the upright member ofthat unit at such a height that it may be superposed on and supported bythe bed portion of the other unit with its upright member at that end ofsaid other unit opposite the upright member of the latter, saidsuperposed bed portion having at that end thereof opposite its uprightsupporting member legs to support the same independently of the lowerunit, said legs being collapsible to permit said superposed unit to besupported on said lower unit, said lower unit having means whereby thebed portion thereof may be adjusted to an elevated position withrelation to its upright supporting member when said units have beenseparated and having at that end of its bed portion opposite saidupright member means for supporting said bed portion in a substantiallyhorizontal position when it has been so adjusted.

13. A davenport comprising separate upper and lower bed units each unitconstituting a complete bed including a bed portion and an upright supporting member at oneend of and extending upwardly above said bedportion, the bed portions of the two units being connected with therespective. upright members at different heights and being arranged oneabove the other with said end members at the opposite ends of thecombined structure, said upright members being of substantially the sameheight to form the arms of the davenport, the bed portion of said upperunit being supported by said lower bed unit and being removabletherefrom to convert said davenport into separately supported beds, saidupper bed unit having at that end thereof opposite its upright membercollapsible means for supporting the same in a horizontal position whenit has been removed from said lower bed unit.

14. A davenport comprising upper and lower bed units each unitconstituting a complete bed including a bed portion and an uprightmember ture, said upright members being of substantially the same heightto form the arms of the davenport, the bed portion of said u per bedunit be-' ing supported by said lower bed unit and being carried by therespective bed units, one of said connecting devices including a partforming a hand grip for moving the same out of. engagement with theother connecting device and for lifting the upper bed unit. j

15. A davenport comprising two separate bed units each complete initself and including a horizontal frame having an upwardly extendingflange along the front edge thereof, a mattress supported on said frame,and an upright member secured to said frame at one end thereof andextending upwardly above said mattress, the frame of one unit beingsuperposed on and extending lengthwise of the mattress of the otherunity with its upright member at that end of said other unit oppositethe upright member of the latter, said end members forming the arms ofthe davenport and the front edge of said mattresses constituting thefront surface of the davenport seat, each mattress havinga downwardly.facing groove adjacent the front edge thereof to receive and concealthe flange of itsv frame,

' and the upper bed unit having means for supporting the'same ahorizontal position when it is. removed from the lower bed unit.

MARY KATHRYN COOPER.

